Thursday, August 2, 2012

Boomer Report: Reds Rise, as the Tribe tumble yet again

Say it with me, BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL!!!

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

The trade deadline has passed and as we head into the month of August or what most people like to call, "the dog days of summer", the final two months of the regular season should be very entertaining/interesting to follow. With traded players adapting to their new surroundings, we will see which ones make the biggest slash on their new teams, and help them improve on their playoff positioning.

Cincinnati Reds 64-41 (1st place in the NL Central by 3.5 games, best record in MLB)
34-19 Home 30-22 Away RS: 459 RA: 387 Diff: +72

I'm the kind of guy, who looks at things with a glass half-full approach. The way the Reds are playing right now, I sure wish it was the end of October and not the beginning of August. On the other hand, how can you not enjoy this current run the team has been on since the All-Star break. With a record of 17-3 since the break, the Reds find themselves atop the National League Standings, in fact, they got the best record in all of baseball right now. Twenty-three games above the .500 mark, the Reds hold a 3.5 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central. Have I mention, the Reds are doing this without the aid of their franchise player 1B Joey Votto? Votto is showing signs of being back in the Reds lineup very soon (although probably not over the weekend). Now, that the Reds have acquired Jonathan Broxton (via the KC Royals at the trade deadline), the Reds have a lethal bullpen (if not already), with Broxton taking the 8th inning role. This adds depth to an already deep bullpen for the Reds, and makes the job for the starters a littler easier (seriously, just give me 6 quality innings, I'll take my chances with Marshall, Broxton, and Chapman). The Reds haven't been short on scoring runners as of late, scoring at least 3 runs a game in the past two weeks. I like what I'm seeing out of Ryan Ludwick (who the Reds acquired over the offseason, to play LF), who in the last 10 games has a battling average of .459 (17 for 37) with 5 HR's and 17 RBI's. This is the Ludwick that Reds faces have been waiting to see all season long and it is important for Ludwick to keep it going if the Reds want to stay atop the NL Central. As we head into the final two months of the regular season, the Reds are primed for a great finish and possibly a deep run in the NL playoffs. Good vibes are a happening in the Queen City right now.

If only the MLB season was played entirely in the month of April and May, the Indians might be a contender, IF ONLY. However, that's not the case and the Indians again for the second straight season, look to not have enough to hang around with the contenders in the AL Central. As of last week, after taking 2 out of 3 games vs. the Detroit Tigers, the Indians were embarrassed over the weekend, being swept by the lowly-Twins, and are now about to be swept (Tonight, 8:05) by the last-place KC Royals (a team with only 19 home W's). The Indians are now 4-games below .500 and find themselves all but out of the AL Central race with the White Sox and Tigers. The Indians didn't make any moves at the trade deadline buying or selling (which surprised me), yet we still have that wavier period (I don't understand it), so who knows who will be around for the rest of the season. The Tribe placed Derek Lowe on assignment all, but ending his stint with the Indians (fun while it lasted) and possibly his career in MLB. Grady Sizemore was a non-factor yet again this season, Travis Hafner again spent the majority of the season on the DL (worthless), while the Indians yet again struggled to score runs, while at the same time struggling not to allow runs (notably the starting pitching) Now, with the season all but over it will be interesting to see how this team plays the final two months of the season. Will they save face and try and finish around the .500 mark yet again, or will they just completely fall off the map and finish 10+ games below the .500 mark. In other news, Trent Richardson should be exciting to watch in a Cleveland Browns jersey this fall, haha.